Children enjoy playing and interacting with characters in the form of dolls, action figures, stuffed animals, and other toys. Play structures designed to be used in conjunction with such toys enhance the user's ability to enjoy interaction with the characters. Unfortunately, such play structures are often large, bulky, and contain many small pieces or components that may be lost. These aspects of the traditional play structure make it difficult for users, particularly children, to transport the structure from one place to another. Further, purchasing play structures in addition to the toys may be cost prohibitive.
Examples of play structures and structures having expandable features are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,258,788, 1,279,866, 1,343,065, 1,517,030, 1,551,666, 1,567,849, 1,746,595, 1,853,116, 1,918,375, 2,000,618, 2,124,352, 2,219,507, 2,262,700, 2,428,628, 2,441,076, 2,441,761, 2,544,833, 2,872,753, 3,078,615, 3,182,420, 3,231,942, 3,341,987, 3,363,360, 4,048,748, 4,067,137, 4,070,789, 4,146,983, 4,190,978, 4,212,231, 4,349,983, 4,468,020, 4,508,519, 4,592,573, 4,603,658, 4,883,443, 4,898,404, 4,910,899, 4,964,249, 5,013,278, 5,019,010, 5,055,083, 5,096,204, 5,104,124, 5,183,427, 5,259,133, 5,293,706, 5,317,823, 5,423,709, 5,429,432, 5,452,846, 5,562,520, 5,681,199, 5,682,999, 5,738,221, 5,830,033, 5,864,973, 5,868,599, 5,931,099, 5,933,989, 5,943,800, 5,961,149, 6,108,982, 6,146,238, 6,199,308, 6,203,017, 6,386,370, 6,554,685, 6,607,421, 6,725,588, 6,752,436, 6,966,135, 7,018,267, and RE 26,642; U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2005/0051678, 2006/0099875, and 2006/0283775; Foreign Patent No. GB 2295044; and International Publication No. WO 97/009102, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety and for all purposes.